Following My Toes by Laurel Osterkamp

of resent him for it, even if it isn’t his fault. And I don’t want to resent him.”
    I didn’t know what to say so I tried to lighten the mood. “Who says it isn’t his fault? I’ve come to the conclusion that all relationship problems are caused by men. They don’t know how to communicate, and they forget all the important stuff.”
    “Like what?”
    “Like, it’s not okay to bone your girlfriend’s best friend. Stuff like that.”
    Carolyn forced a smile. “I thought I was your best friend.”
    “Well, you certainly are now. You’ve been promoted.”
    “Thanks,” she said. “I’m honored.”
    At that moment Charles showed up. He was still in his work clothes, a white shirt and black pants, so he looked like he could have been one of the wait staff at the restaurant where we were. He almost looked too clean cut to be in a successful rock band, except for the way he wove his blond curls into dreadlocks. He sat down next to Carolyn and, putting his arm around her, gave her an adoring look. Together, they could have been Barbie and Ken, only with more depth, and no doubts about Ken’s sexuality. “Hey.” he said.
    “Hi!” she exclaimed back, her face relaxing into a delighted smile, and with it all of her reservations seemed to have disappeared. Charles turned to me.
    “So you made it.”
    “Yup, she did.” said Carolyn. She gently poked him in the stomach, and then began to tickle him. “You owe me fifteen bucks.”
    Charles laughed. “How about I pick up the bill?”
     
    * * *
     
    I am psychic in a fairly normal way. In fact my ability is the most common one to have, which is precognition. That’s the ability to know about something before it happens. And, the most widespread way to experience it is through dreams. It can also happen through waking visions, auditory hallucinations, flashing thoughts, or a sense of knowing. I’ve only ever had the dreams and the sense of knowing, except for once when I was sure that I saw a cloud formation that looked like a heart, and later that day I had chest pains.
    I used to have my premonitory dreams several times a month. Of course, they didn’t all come true. But you see, precognition is the ability to sense how things could be. Nothing is fixed, my visions are meant merely to offer up something that might happen. So I’m never going to be one hundred percent accurate.
    But once I got down to the cities my abilities all but vanished. It wasn’t a matter of whether or not my premonitions were accurate; they simply didn’t exist at all, save for two exceptions. I’ll get to the second one later, but the first one happened during my first night at Carolyn’s.
    I was having a fitful night sleeping on the futon. Although they were whispering, I was sure Charles and Carolyn were fi ghting on the other side of their bedroom door, although I could not hear what about. I kept drifting off to sleep and waking again, but I swear their fight lasted more than a couple of hours. After three or four cycles of this, I woke up, but I was no longer in Charles and Carolyn’s living room. I was on the couch in the lounge of my parents’ bed and breakfast. And I felt very good, like I was about to melt into a perfect pool of birthday cake, silk pajamas, and hugs.
    Then I noticed all of the stuffed dead animals that surrounded me. They were as creepy as ever, staring at me with their claws and teeth bared; they appeared truculent and ready for battle in an “I’m stuffed and dead” sort of way. But I wasn’t scared, because I sensed a presence in the room, a good presence keeping me warm and safe. Then the presence got up and left me, and I thought, “I have to reach Carolyn!” Then I woke up and realized the whole thing had actually been a dream.
    The next morning I got up before Charles and Carolyn, so I had made some coffee by the time Carolyn emerged from the bedroom in her white kimono, man’s undershirt and boxers. Although she was clearly attempting to